Chatham man faces 15 felonies after AR-15 standoff

Residents in a Chatham County neighborhood awoke to the sound of gunfire early this morning, prompting a swift response from police and the arrest of an armed suspect.

Chatham County Police Department officers arrested 20-year-old Edwin Aburto Torres, who is facing 15 felony charges after allegedly firing shots in a residential area and pointing an AR-15 rifle at officers, according to a community announcement.

Officers respond to shots fired

Just after 2 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 200 block of Larchmont Drive following multiple calls reporting gunfire. Upon arrival, they found Torres in the backyard of a residence, armed with an AR-15. Police say he pointed the weapon at them before fleeing.

Torres eventually complied with commands to drop the weapon but continued

to run. He was apprehended on Quacco Road after a foot chase. The suspect did not fire at officers, and officers did not discharge their weapons during the incident.

The AR-15 was recovered and secured by police at the scene.

Homes damaged, no injuries reported

Several homes were damaged by gunfire before officers arrived, but no injuries were reported.

“I cannot speak highly enough of our brave police officers who ran without hesitation towards the gunman and disarmed him before an innocent person in their home was hurt or killed by this inexcusable and reckless behavior,” Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley said in the announcement. “Every Chatham County Police Department officer knows that a routine shift can quickly turn into a life-or-death emergency, and they are rigorously trained for just this kind of situation. We are incredibly thankful that each of these officers who responded to this call ended their shift unharmed.”

Suspect facing multiple felony charges

Torres is charged with four counts of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer, seven counts of aggravated assault, and four counts of second-degree criminal damage to property. In Georgia, pointing a firearm at a person can result in a felony aggravated assault charge.

After his arrest, Torres was booked into the Chatham County Detention Center.

The case is being investigated by the Chatham County Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit. Officers continued to canvass the neighborhood to assess additional property damage.

The Chatham County Police Department is the lead investigative agency in this case.

This story was created by a Savannah Morning News editor with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Chatham man faces 15 felonies after AR-15 standoff